I like words. I can admire a long, yet tightly crafted sentence, and I can really get into the economy and compact beauty of short-form poetry. I’ve quite enjoyed taking my time with haiku: taking time and considering how to capture a moment just right within the constraints. A couple of months ago, I decided I was going to write a double dactyl about all of my students. I finished two. This was my favorite:

What do you know: the day is almost gone and I’m just now sitting down to write. I’m glad that I challenged myself with this blogathon. Now that I’m sitting here at the keyboard I find that I really want to take a few minutes to write. Without the challenge, I wouldn’t be sitting here focusing on starting this new habit.

What shall I write about? I could write about my constant delight at the way life seems different now than it did when I was little. “We live in the future” has been one of my mottos lately, as I marvel at the possibilities. For example, yesterday I sent out a generic “good morning” sort of tweet and wound up in conversation with Limor Shiponi — a storyteller I admire who lives in Israel. I had no idea that she followed me. Or, I know, I could write about my day: maybe tell you about the lunch I shared with my friends after I picked them up at the airport (their trip started with a bear pelt!). I’d really like to share another of my favorite e. e. cummings poems with you, but I’d really like to read it aloud and my roommate is already asleep. I’ll have to do that one earlier in the day. Oh! I could brainstorm with you about the character I’m working on for the circus I’m going to run away to in September!

I think instead I’d like to explain what I’d like to get out of this blogathon. Obviously, I’m not short of things to write about. I like writing. I want to learn to be a better writer. And yet, I hardly ever sit down and write. This is the month that I’ll make writing a habit. Did you ever read this article about Jerry Seinfeld’s productivity secret? It’s such a simple idea, really: take a calendar that shows the whole year and put it up somewhere that you’ll see it every day. Write for at least 15 minutes, and put a big ol’ X marking today. Tomorrow, write for at least 15 minutes and mark off that date. Before you know it, you’ll have a streak — you’ve written every day for a week… two weeks… a month — you’ll have an unbroken chain of days that you’ve practiced your craft. It would be a shame to break it!

I read that article years ago. I never got around to actually doing it because there are so many things I’d like to use it for! When I first saw it, I thought that I’d use it to write, to exercise, to practice the piano, the cello, the bass, the dunduns. I’d use it for tsumego (exercises to improve at Go), for studying poker, for speaking another language, for… do you know, there are so many things I’d like to work at being good at. I’m *never* going to run out of stuff to do. I’m never bored.

Now, I think that I’m a little bit good at a lot of things… but I really want to write more. And so, I’m starting a new chain of writing by blogging every day this month. As the month winds down I’ll decide how to keep the streak going. I also intend to start streaks at exercising (in particular, biking in preparation for the carnival), housework, and storytelling. Let’s start one thing at a time, though, eh?